Media Frenzy

Social media pages lit up yesterday and today with the news that four bronze statues had been dug up by farmers in a field in Tumring commune, Sandan district of Kompong Thom and were this afternoon, handed over to Ministry of Culture officials, to be transferred to Kompong Thom Provincial Museum for cleaning and appraisal. An initial assessment of the four metal figures – a seated Buddha, an 18-arm Chinese-style Goddess Durga, a 6-arm Male Deity with characteristics of the Hindu Trimurti and a seated Female Deity – indicates that they are all of a contemporary or modern casting, imitating earlier styles from the Angkor period. This isn’t the first time that newly-discovered artifacts in the same area have been identified as modern replicas. However, in recent times, other newly-found objects in Kompong Thom province have been declared authentic including a stone linga and a kneeling ascetic, amongst others, and a Lokeshvara found last year.